Carpenter gives woman electric shocks, decamps with Rs 15 lakh

Accused had worked at victim’s Bandra flat for 25 days; on the last day, he re-entered flat saying he had left his phone, but assaulted the woman, robbed valuables worth Rs 15 lakh and fled

A 54-year-old Bandra resident has survived a grievous assault by a carpenter who strangulated her and then tried to electrocute her in order to rob her, on Monday evening.

The 20-year-old carpenter arrived on Monday evening and gained entry into the sixth floor flat in Mangal Mahal building on Turner Road, on the pretext of collecting his mobile phone

The accused made away with valuables worth Rs 15 lakh, including cash and gold, but was arrested a few hours later, after the victim regained consciousness and notified the cops. The accused has been identified as 20-year-old Rehman Khan Mohammad Mukin, a resident of the labour camp in Matunga.

“The accused had been working with three other people at the woman’s house for the last 25 days. On Monday, the work concluded and they left in the afternoon. Mukin, however, returned on the pretext of collecting his mobile phone, entered the flat and committed the crime.

He intended to kill the woman. In fact, he thought she was dead, after which he ransacked the flat and escaped. However, within a few hours, we arrested him and recovered almost all the property,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivaji Kolekar from Bandra division.

Police said the victim Meeta Bodhwani resides with her two children on the sixth floor of Mangal Mahal building in Turner Road, Bandra (West) and carpentry work was going on in one of the rooms of the four-bedroom flat.

Bodhwani in her complaint stated that since the workers had been working for almost a month, she trusted them, and when Mukin arrived at her house on the day of the incident, she did not feel threatened.

According to the police, Mukin arrived at 7 pm and told Bodhwani that he left his mobile in the room where he was working. She asked him to collect the phone and shut the door on his way out, after which she went to her room. Mukin, however, did not leave and stayed put in the room. After half an hour he stepped out and attacked Bodhwani.

Police said he first strangulated Bodhwani with a dupatta, but she fought back. She, however, started feeling weak and began losing consciousness. Mukin became furious and aggressive and pulled out a wire from the bag he was carrying and began giving Bodhwani electric shocks, due to which she became unconscious. Thinking she was dead, he went into the room and robbed cash and gold valuables worth R15 lakh.

The incident came to light when her children arrived and found their mother in an unconscious state. She was rushed to Holy Family Hospital where she is currently recuperating. The police swung into action and Mukin was arrested within a few hours. He was produced in the Bandra court yesterday and remanded in police custody.